Grape

Grape (genus Vitis), any member of the grape genus, Vitis (family Vitaceae), with about 60 species native to the north temperate zone, including varieties that may be eaten as table fruit, dried to produce raisins, or crushed to make grape juice or wine. Vitis vinifera, the species most commonly used in wine making, was successfully cultivated in the Old World for thousands of years and was eventually brought to California. Fossilized grape leaves, stem pieces and seeds unearthed from Neogene and Paleogene deposits (those about 2.6 to 65 million years old) in the Northern Hemisphere indicate the long existence and wide ... (100 of 1,060 words)